Chinese GP: Will Nico Rosberg be a Shanghai knight?

Nico Rosberg will be keen to get his own back on Lewis Hamilton in this weekend’s Chinese GP, after losing out to the Briton following a hard-fought battle in Bahrain

Nico Rosberg will be keen to get his own back on Lewis Hamilton in this weekend’s Chinese GP, after losing out to the Briton following a hard-fought battle in Bahrain.

Rosberg and Hamilton are locked in their own, personal, intra-team title battle as Mercedes, having adapted better than rival outfits to Formula One’s new rules, have dominated the sport’s revolutionary new era, the German marque winning each of the three races so far this season.

Mercedes’ dominant run means the team’s two drivers are currently leading the world championship standings with Rosberg, who cruised to the win in the season-opening Australian GP, ahead on 61 points.

But his teammate Hamilton is in hot pursuit and has closed the gap to Rosberg to eleven points following two successive wins in as many races since. Rosberg was the faster of the two Mercedes drivers in Bahrain but he will be aware that coming out on top in their first wheel-to-wheel duel hands Hamilton a crucial psychological edge, and the German will be determined to redress the balance in China, scene of his maiden Grand Prix triumph.

“The layout seems to suit my driving style, it’s a track I enjoy racing at and I want to be back on that top step of the podium this weekend,” Rosberg said in a statement.

The German will have his work cut out, however, as Hamilton has the best record of any of the current crop of drivers at Shanghai and will not be easy to beat.